Talking Past & Seeing Future

I recently read Why is this a Question? by Paul Anthony Jones. He deals with a number of issues regarding language, including origins and grammar. Although many of his explanations predictably depend on an evolutionary world view, it made for an interesting read. In Chapter 2 (‘What is Language?’), he discusses 'displacement', the ability humans have to talk about events in the past and future:

‘When you hear birds chirruping in the trees, it’s fair to say they’re not discussing last week’s weather, or what they hope will be on the bird table tomorrow; they’re responding purely to the here and now- establishing territories, searching for mates, seeing off rivals, forming social bonds and reporting predators.’

We humans, on the other hand, can describe and analyse events far removed from the present reality. Old folk love to talk about the past (me among them), and young people enjoy talking about their futures. The Christian, however, goes further back and further forward. We meditate upon events before the creation of the world- God’s sovereign plan to redeem- as well as life beyond the reality of this current world: being with Christ which is better by far. What a pity that so many of us love to talk about worldly, temporal things, instead of that which is eternal and spiritual. Those who can only talk about the present, even if it is an eighty-year-stretch of present, are little better than those tweeting birds and croaking frogs.

He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then He'll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet.
Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.

-F.H. Rowley, 1886